Electronic Dice Is Introduction To Microcontroller Programming

May 27, 2022 by Bryan Cockfield 10 Comments

By now most of us are familiar with the Arduino platform. It’s an inexpensive and fairly easy way into the world of microcontrollers. For plenty of projects, there’s no need to go beyond that unless you have a desire to learn more of the inner workings of microcontrollers in general. [Cristiano] was interested in expanding some of his knowledge, so he decided to build this electronic dice using a PIC microcontroller instead of the Arduino platform he was more familiar with.

As a result, this project is set up as a how-to for others looking to dive further into the world of microcontrollers that don’t have the same hand-holding setup as the Arduino. To take care of the need for a random number for the dice, the PIC’s random number generator is used but with the added randomness of a seed from an internal timer. The timer is started when a mercury tilt switch signals the device that it has been rolled over, and after some computation a single digit number is displayed on a seven-segment display.

While it might seem simple on the surface, the project comes with an in-depth guide on programming the PIC family of microcontrollers, and has a polish not normally seen on beginner projects, including the use of the mercury tilt switch which gives it a retro vibe. For some other tips on how to build projects like this, take a look at this guide on how to build power supplies for your projects as well.

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3D Print A Colour TV

May 27, 2022 by Jenny List 36 Comments

The oldest form of television used a spinning disk with a progression of holes — a Nipkow disk — to slice the image into lines for display. They’re surprisingly simple machines and capable of unexpectedly high-quality images despite their relatively low resolution. Even better, in an age of microcontrollers and bright LEDs, making one that works is not the chore it might once have been. [Markus Mierse] has created one that uses an Arduino Mega and a set of 3D printed parts, so there’s no excuse for not having a spinning disk TV on your shelf.

The Arduino Mega is chosen because it has enough lines to drive three six-bit DACs for each of red, green, and blue. The disk is driven by a PWM motor controller, and synchronization is taken care of by a piece of reflective tape and an IR proximity sensor. Images and video are read from an SD card and displayed on the screen in glorious 32-line colour. The full build process can be seen in the video below the break.

A surprise when viewing mechanical TV is that its quality is much better than the meager resolution would have you believe, and this one with its colour display is much better than the usual monochrome devices. It’s hardly HDTV, but it acquits itself well and would provide an excellent talking point.

If you’re curious about Nipkow disks, they’re a subject we’ve examined in the past.

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Cityscape Multi-Level Keyboard Really Stacks Up

May 27, 2022 by Kristina Panos No comments

Keyboards with wells like the Maltron, the Kinesis Advantage family, and everything dactyl-esque out there are great. Trust us, we know this firsthand. But if you want to build your own curvy girl, how the heck can you implement that shape without 3D printing, clever woodworking, or access to tooling and plastic molding equipment? Well, there is another way. Over on twitter (translated) (Threadreader: Japanese, English), [tsukasa_metam] has achieved the key well effect by stacking up PCBs to create a skyline of vertically-staggered keys.

The boards of Cityscape are all screwed together for mechanical integrity, but those screws are working overtime, providing electrical connections between the layers as well. We particularly like that there is an impetus for this build other than ‘I thought of it, so let’s do it’ — [tsukasa_metam] tends to typo in the double key press sense, hitting Q for instance at the same time when A was the intended target. Between the 3.2 mm of key travel, the 2.8 mm step height, and those flat F10 keycaps, that is no longer an issue.

Instead of the popular low-profile Kailh choc switches, [tsukasa_metam] went with TTC KS32s, a new switch introduced in 2020. Unlike chocs, they’ll take Cherry MX-style keycaps, as long as they’re wearing short skirts. Cityscape isn’t totally open source, but the idea is now out there nonetheless, and we happen to have an Odd Inputs and Peculiar Peripherals contest running now through July 4th.

Do stacked PCBs seem kinda familiar? Hey, it’s easier than winding transformer coils.

Via KBD #79

Electronic Catan Game Board Is Modular

May 27, 2022 by Bryan Cockfield 6 Comments

Plenty of gamers around these parts require an expensive PC to play games, often spending thousands of dollars for a gaming machine. Believe it or not, though, there are entire classes of games that don’t require any electronics at all, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t benefit from the addition of some neat gadgets. This Settlers of Catan game uses custom LCD tiles with a built-in custom mesh network.

The tiles for the game board themselves are hexagonal and snap together using magnetic pogo pins in order to form a board of any size or shape. The pogo pins also allow communication for a pseudo-mesh network to operate with each tile’s built-in PCB to allow the game board to know exactly which tiles are placed where and to display the correct image on each one. Each tile contains it own RP2040 microcontroller, keeping the overall cost of each tile to a minimum.

For those regularly hosting game night, a project like this could really change the traditionally analog game’s dynamic for the better. It was mostly a project that [Colin Iuliano] built just for fun, and if he ever builds a second one he does plan on some improvements, but we’d say that it looks like a success already. For other Catan-based electronic design inspiration, take a look at this complete and non-modular electronic game board.

The new PewPew with an LCD showing some patterns, being held in someone's hand.

Hackaday Prize 2022: PewPew LCD Plays With Python

May 27, 2022 by Arya Voronova 4 Comments

[deshipu] aka [Radomir Dopieralski] has been building educational handhelds for a good part of a decade now, and knows how to design hardware that makes for effective teaching. Today, we are graced with the PewPew LCD project, latest in the PewPew student-friendly handheld series, powered by CircuitPython.

The goal for all of these devices has been consistent — making game programming accessible and fun. This time, as an entry in the Reuse, Recycle, Revamp round of Hackaday Prize, the new PewPew receives an upgrade – from an 8×8 LED matrix to an LCD display. This might not sound like much, but the change of display technology itself isn’t the main point. [deshipu] is working on ways to bring down the price and assembly complexity of PewPew handhelds, and he’s found there’s plenty of old stock RH-112 displays, previously used on cellphones like Nokia 1202, which these days go for as little as $1.30 a piece.

It’s exceptionally simple to get into writing games for the PewPew – one of the reasons why it’s a strong platform for workshops and individual learning. There’s already a slew of games and tutorials, and we can’t wait to see all the cool games people can build when given all the extra pixels! And, of course, we appreciate setting an example for giving new life to old displays – displays that’d otherwise inevitably end up in a trash container behind a warehouse in China.

The Reuse, Recycle, Revamp Hackaday Prize 2022 round is going on for two more weeks. If you’re making good use of something that would otherwise be discarded, please do share it with us, so that we can all learn and draw inspiration from your projects!

Vintage Pro Audio Hack Chat Gets In The Groove

May 27, 2022 by Tom Nardi 3 Comments

Despite the fact that we’ve been doing them for years now, it’s still hard to predict how a Hack Chat will go. There’s no question it will be an hour of interesting discussion of course, that much is a given. But the dynamics of the conversation can range from a rigid Q&A, which isn’t exactly unexpected when you’ve only got a limited amount of time with a subject matter expert, to a freewheeling hangout with a group of people who all happen to be interested in the same thing.

This week’s Vintage Pro Audio Hack Chat with Frank Olson definitely took the latter approach. The allotted hour flew by in a blink, with so many anecdotes and ideas flying back and forth that at times it was tricky to follow. But no worries, with the Chat transcript to pore over, we can make sure none of that accrued first-hand knowledge goes to waste.

So what did we learn during this Chat? Well, it probably won’t come as much of a surprise to find that those who have an opinion on audio gear tend to have a strong opinion on it. Folks were painting with some fairly broad brushes, with particular manufacturers and even whole fields of technology receiving a bit of good-natured ribbing. If your favorite brand or piece of gear gets a specific shout-out, try not to take it too personally — at the end of the day, most in the Chat seemed to agree that sound is so subjective that the right choice is more often than not whatever sounds best to you at the moment.

Which leads directly into Frank’s work with custom microphones. As a musician he knew the sound he was looking for better than anyone, so rather than spend the money on big-name gear, he prefers to build it himself. But the real hook here is their unique construction, with pieces that reimagine design concepts from mid-century commercial equipment using unexpected materials such as thin pieces of walnut cut with a vinyl cutter. Frank explains that the structure of the microphone isn’t as critical these days thanks to the availability of powerful neodymium magnets, which gives the builder more freedom in terms of materials and tools. He says the goal is to inspire others to try building gear from what’s available to them rather than assuming it won’t work because it’s unconventional.

We appreciate Frank, and everyone else, stopping by this week for such a lively and friendly discussion. Let’s be honest, a Chat specifically for folks who want to discuss concepts as personal and nebulous as how they perceive the warmth of sound could have gotten a little heated. But the fact that everyone was able to express their opinions or ask for advice constructively is a real credit to the community.

The Hack Chat is a weekly online chat session hosted by leading experts from all corners of the hardware hacking universe. It’s a great way for hackers connect in a fun and informal way, but if you can’t make it live, these overview posts as well as the transcripts posted to Hackaday.io make sure you don’t miss out.

Hackaday Podcast 170: Poop Shooting Laser, Positron Is A 3D Printer On Its Head, DIY Pulsar Capture, GPS’s Achilles Heel

May 27, 2022 by Tom Nardi 1 Comment

Join Hackaday Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Managing Editor Tom Nardi for a recap of all the best tips, hacks, and stories of the past week. We start things off with an update on Hackaday’s current slate of contests, followed by an exploration of the cutting edge in 3D printing and printables. Next up we’ll look at two achievements in detection, as commercial off-the-shelf hardware is pushed into service by unusually dedicated hackers to identify both dog poop and deep space pulsars (but not at the same time). We’ll also talk about fancy Samsung cables, homebrew soundcards, the surprising vulnerability of GPS, and the development of ratholes in your cat food.

Direct Download link

Check out the links below if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!